Complex Person
by UntitledAuthor
Summary: Cindy runs away from home after her parents split up and experiences the brutality of life on the street. Years later she returns to Retroville but nobody recognizes her. Not even her long term crush.
1. Chapter 1

I'm staring out the window with my nose smudged against the glass. I can't stop the tears from coming out. There's nothing I can do to better the situation. It's like Math, - one of the many reasons why I love it so much, - either it's right or it's wrong. There's no shennanigans in between. No gloating and guessing, it is what it is. Just like this situation, there's nothing I can do about it. It is the way it is.

But I can't help feeling the way I do. Mainly because there's nothing I can do to prevent it. I don't want any of my friends to know about this, I just want to keep it to myself, like I do with everything.

I'm watching my mom walk down the sidewalk with her bags towards a yellow cab pulled up beside our mailbox. Her stern hips sway from side to side. I don't know if Dad is watching her like I am. I don't know if he even cares.

I never got along real well with my mother anyway. It was like no matter how hard I tried she was never satisfied with the outcome. If I got an A she wouldn't congratulate me at all, she would simply throw the report card at my face and tell me to do better next time. Any time I was happy or doing something fun she would call me inside and make me study, even if my homework was finished hours ago.

I don't care what it is anymore. I'll never be as smart as Neutron and I don't give a damn. I'm smart enough the way it is, I don't have to be a freaking genius. I was so caught up on being what my mother wanted me to be that I hadn't even noticed my feelings for him until later. Much, much later.

So why are there tears streaming down my cheeks? And my hands are pressed firmly against the glass, like I'm trying to push the window out and jump to her.

Because she's my mother, that's why. Even if she's a total bitch and in order to get her requited love is to be the most perfect person in the world, she's still my mother.

I still have the shape of her face and the color of her eyes. And when I was born my hair was black like hers, but then it turned blond somewhere in between.

I watch the taxi man toss her things in the trunk as she climbs in the back seat. She doesn't even turn around and look back at the house. Not back at me, or my brother or anything she left behind. She's looking straight forward, on something new. A new husband, a new life, a new daughter to fuck up.

I blink and the cab was gone.

In fact, the cab had been gone for a few days now. But it feels like this memory keeps repeating itself everytime I look out this damned window. I get the same thing. The same gray sky and dead grass. The same green lights flashing from Jimmy's blinded window. The same cab driver.

I've got to get myself out of this memory. I can't let it keep repeating itself. I can't burst into tears everytime I look out this window. I've got to move on, already.

I turn around and find Humphrey fast asleep in the center of my bed. He's so cute. He knows everything about me. He knows everything there is to know about me. Nobody really knows me, for who I am.

When people look at me, or think Cindy Vortex, they think of a blond haired girl with green eyes. The same girl that harassed Jimmy Neutron in Grade school and the same girl who became the hottest girl in Junior High due to a grow spurt. That's all they see. Jimmy sees me as a threat. The other boys see me as a make out buddy. The girls try to hang out with me to catch boys attention. And Libby sees me as a troubled girl with emotions locked up inside. Well, she's right about that one. Because that's all they can see.

But there is so much more to me than that. I am a very complex person, but no one takes the time to find out what's really here.

I really messed myself up, especially when I dated Nick Dean when we were in 7th grade. He was such a tard, all he ever wanted to do was to swamp spit. And I continued to date him, continued to make out with him until his hand reached under my shirt and groped one of my breasts through my sports bra. That's where I had to draw the line. I broke up with him on the spot.

And then, since Nick Dean's ego was crushed he started making up horrible lies about me. Horrible lies that even, Carl, Sheen and Jimmy believed. He said that I was a complete whore and all I wanted to do was make out, he said that once I gave him a blow job, and that he broke up with me because I was cheating on him with some nineteen year old guy from a pub.

I mean, what kind of bullshit is that? What did I do to deserve such awful lies made up about me? Libby was the only person that didn't believe them. But everyone else? Oh yeah, that was major Hell.

My chances of being with Neutron were already slim. Like, a 30 percent chance. And then when Nick Dean made up all those retarded lies, that took away about 10 or 20 percent. Because Jimmy Neutron never looked at me the same again. Everytime he looked at me, he thought, _Slut._

I wanted to tell everyone it wasn't true. I wanted to burst into Principal Willoughbee's office and yell into the speakers that Nick Dean was an idiot making up God damned lies. But I didn't.

Instead I just wandered through the school quietly. Trying to avoid eye contact with everyone. Barely talking at all, I never raised my hand in class anymore, or asked any questions, or volunteered to do anything. I was too ashamed, though I had nothing to be ashamed about. Now Jimmy was the only one doing everything in class, it was no Jimmy and Cindy thing. No, Jimmy versus Cindy for this, or Jimmy versus Cindy for that. It was Jimmy the genius does it again, over, Cindy the dumb whore who's done it with a nineteen year old from a pub.

Eventually, I pretty much stopped talking in school. Libby and I would go off to our own corner and talk occasionally. But other than that it was nothing.

At first I had to respond to a bunch of boys trying to flirt with me or get with me. I mean why not? I was the big fat slut of the school! I fucked everybody, right? So why not try and flirt with me? Who knows, maybe I'll give you a blow job in the janitor's closet. But then after I just stopped replying to them they gave up. But they made up even more lies.

Like take Abraham for a shining example. He was flirting like hell with me. I just stopped responding to him, so then he went off and bragged to his friends about him making out with me. He said that I let him lick and suck my breasts and some other shit like that.

God, what is wrong with boys? That is all I have to ask. That is such major bull, it's not even funny. And the thing that makes it worse? Oh yeah, everyone actually believed him!

After awhile there were so many rumors about me, the big fat slut, I just stopped keeping track. The last one I heard about was that I did a threesome with Butch and Arnie or something.

Y'knows some girls come up to me asking for advice. They think that I'm this totally experienced slut, who's gone all the way and I know everything there is to know about sex. But to be honest with you, I've never been any farther than French kissing. Except that time Nick reached under my shirt and groped me, but I didn't like it and it never happened again.

Things got kind of dull. With just Libby and I. We were always hanging out by ourselves and going to the movies by ourselves and everything. And we didn't dare try and tag along with Jimmy Neutron and his weird but entertaining adventures. He was totally sucked into the rumors. He would never let a slut like me go anywhere with him. And besides, why need me, the big fat slut? When he has Betty Quinlin. Oh yeah, those two hooked up shortly after Nick and I broke up.

I hope you know how devestated I was. I was really planning on telling him how I felt about him after stalking away from Nick. But then all these rumors happened and anyway, plan demolished.

See, my life is so great. My parents split up, I'm the school's biggest slut, which is making my crush stay the Hell away from me, so what else is new?

Well, see I've been pondering this idea for a long time, and I've decided to run away. I'm thirteen years old, I'm sure I can handle myself. I've been taking Ba Gua and Tai Qi Chuan since I was four.

All my bags are packed up and resting on my bed, next to Humphrey who is still fast asleep. I just needed time to make sure this is what I really wanted to do, so I looked out the window, and that's when all those memories came flooding back to me.

"Humphrey," I whisper quietly as I throw the duffle back strap around my shoulder. I touch the side of his rib and shake him a little. "Humphrey, wake up. It's time to go." There was no way I was leaving Humphrey behind. No way.

No one loves him like I do, and no one can understand what he's saying like I can. My brother won't take care of him and neither will my dad. Humphrey will just wind up in a dog pound.

I put on Humphrey's worn out torquoise leash, and gave him another tug. His eyelids shot open and he gave me a look. I grab my other duffle back and throw it around the opposite shoulder.

"C'mon Humphrey, we don't have much time." I say. Humphrey gets up and leaps off the bed.

We creep down the stairs, and go out the house.

It's mid October so it's pretty cold. I'm wearing a heavy coat and a black beanie over my blond hair. Humphrey shivers but then his furry body quickly adjusts to the new clement.

I let out a sigh. I can see my breath. It rises right in front of Jimmy Neutron's house.

Jimmy. The boy that I've had a crush on since he first moved here. That's an awful long time. And yet I've never had the chance to tell him the truth.

Another thing I forgot to tell you, I wrote letters. Letters to the people that somewhat mattered to me. I left a letter for my father, a letter for my brother, a letter for Libby, a letter for Jimmy and yes, even a letter for Nick.

But none of the letters were as important to me as Jimmy's was. I want to know what his reaction is going to be like when he reads it. It's my confession. But I won't be here to see him. In each letter lies an explanation, or in Nick's case, a threat.

In the past, Nick had tried to seduce me a few times, even after we had broken up. Like once, I was all alone in the locker room, after one of my figure skating practices and he showed up. With nothing but a towel on, drenched in water.

"Hey Cindy," Nick said. I had stared at him wide eyed.

"Uh, Nick, what are you doing in the girl's locker rooms?" I asked as I continued to fumble with my shoe laces.

"To see you." Nick said smirking.

"Sure." I said throwing my long banes out of my eyes. "Get out, Nick before I tell on you."

"Ooh, she's going to tell on me." Nick mocked to the air. I got up and began to walk by him but he put his arm out in front of me just in time to grab my waist. "Cind - ,"

"Let go!" I slapped his hand away and glared at him. "We're not together anymore, Nick." I snarled. "And you have some nerve, making shit all rumors about me, so don't you dare touch me."

"I'll touch what I want to touch." Nick knew he had an advantage over me. Or so men seem to think. They seem to think that since they're taller and wider than women, they can over power them, which often is the case, but not with Cindy Vortex, whoa no. He did keep me pinned to the wall for a while, his thumbs pressed hard into my shoulders as his eyes bored into mine. "And right now it's you."

"Whatever," I said. "Don't make me hurt you, Nick."

"Right," The threat didn't register into his brain. He grabbed his towel and whipped it off. "Like what you see?" I laughed hysterically, but in truth I didn't really know. I mean I was only in 7th grade, I haven't seen many penises to start off with so how the hell was I supposed to know what's big and what's not big?

Nick tried to move in for a kiss but my fist slammed into his balls before his lips got close to mine. He howled in pain as I stomped out of the locker room and never looked back.

I know now that his penis is very small. And I'm going to use it to my advantage. When Nick and I were dating he had given me pictures of himself in the nude. That that I ever looked at them, but I am so glad I kept them. Nick is too stuck on himself, that's all I have to say.

In the letter, I told Nick that he better straighten up my name, as straight as a damn pencil. I scribbled, he better tell everyone the damn truth about those stupid rumors and lies. And if he didn't, I'd have Libby post up pictures of his tiny little penis all over the school.

Sigh. I'm thinking the Cindy Vortex name should be cleared by next Monday.

As for Libby's letter? It's pratically just telling her how sorry I am that I wasn't a better friend and how my reputation was screwing up hers and what not. I also told her about the Nick Dean thing and that he'd better clear up my name, and I asked her to make sure he cleared it up right.

Libby's letter also included the pictures of Nick Dean in the nude and beside it I wrote, and if Nick Dean doesn't do it right, you post these pictures of his nano dick all over the school.

Knowing Libby, she may even do it anyway. And to be honest with you, I wouldn't give a damn.

In the letter to my brother, Patrick, it just expressed how sorry I was to leave him there. And how sorry I am to be leaving him at a time like this.

And in my dad's letter? Yeah, go fuck yourself.

Jimmy's letter was the complicated one. The confession one.

_Dear Jimmy Neutron,_

_By the time you receive this letter, I won't be here. I don't have much time so I'll break it down for you nice and simple. The truth is Jimmy, I've had a crush on you since you first moved here. I guess I never had a chance to express the way I felt about you because I was too caught up on being the smartest kid in Retroville. Or maybe I was too caught on my mother's obsession with me being the smartest kid in Retroville, either way, they both have the same endings. But I guess I can't blame my mother for everything._

_In a few days, you will find out that I am not really a slut. That those were lies made up by Nick Dean years ago. I have never done any of those crazy things people have been talking about. Lies and rumors, nothing more. _

_The truth behind the story is, I broke up with Nick Dean because once he had tried to go too far with me. He touched me under my shirt and I didn't like it, so I broke up with him. I didn't realize it hurt him that bad, but obviously he did because he started making up those horrible lies about me. _

_You're probably wondering why I didn't do anything about it. Why I didn't try and convince everyone they were lies. Why bother? Everyone was already stuck on the lies and rumors, there was no way I could try to turn it around. But at least now you know the truth._

_I've been wanting to go out with you for quite some time, though now my chances are about two of ten. Maybe not even that. I was going to tell you how I felt about you after I broke up with Nick Dean, but then the lies started and you believed them. Why would you go out with the slut? Maybe the slut was lying? Who knew. And besides, you seemed pretty happy with Betty Quinlin, and I hope you still are. _

_Things happen, Jimmy. People always told me I can't just sit on the porch and watch the world go by. But that's exactly what happened. Before I dated Nick Dean I had many chances to tell you how I felt. But I never did. I just watched you slip right out of my grasp. _

_And anyways, I'm also sorry for picking on you all those years. I guess that was another way of me trying to convince myself that I didn't really fall for you. But I did. Fall for you, I mean. And hard._

_I've liked you for so long that I'm beginning to think that I love you. How stupid is that? A person you barely even noticed in love with you._

_Well, I'm going to stop before I embarrass the Vortex name any further._

_I love you, Jimmy Neutron. I always have._

_ - Cynthia Vortex._


	2. Chapter 2 of Complex Person

Libby Folifax knew something weird was going on with Cindy Vortex. Maybe it was because she's known the girl since preschool, it was some sort of supernatural best friend connection thing. But whatever it was, something was telling her something weird was going on tonight.

Libby couldn't go to sleep, so she sat on the living room couch watching a replay of the Boondocks. You know the episode when Hughey and Riley go to R. Kelly's trial. The show kind of pissed her off but she was watching it anyway. She didn't like what they were showing on Comedy Central, just stupid stand-up comedians trying to hard to be funny. And she didn't like watching Law & Order late at night. It kind of creeped her out. So she was stuck with the Boondocks.

Libby's eyes were throbbing. She was holding a glass of lukewarm milk in one hand and the remote in the other, turning the volume down when it went on commercial break. She was dressed in her pajamas, a black tank top and Spongebob girl boxers, and of course those fuzzy baby blue slippers Cindy got her for Christmas last year.

Finally, Libby cut the TV off and got up from the couch about to call it quits when she heard the mail slot on the door slink open and a letter flop onto the welcome mat. Libby froze.

_Wait a minute,_ she thought. _Mail at this hour?_

Then she tensed. A burgular!

Libby scampered across the hall, cutting off all the lights and held her breath. She waited a few moments, but heard nothing, so she tip-toed to the front door, and there on the welcome mat was a letter addressed to her.

Libby instantly recognized the handwriting, reached down and picked it up. Libby's heart began to pound, she already knew what happened it was a gut feeling. She ripped the letter open and read the following:

_Dear Libby,_

_I'm sorry I wasn't a better friend to you, and I'm sorry for ruining your reputation and your golden years at Junior Highschool. If it weren't for me, you'd probably be so popular. Well, I'm writing this because I'm running away._

Libby gasped. Her suspicions had been correct. That meant that Cindy had just been here to drop that letter off. Libby yanked the front door open and padded out onto the street. She shivered and stared deep into the night.

"Cindy!" Libby shouted. "Cindy if you can hear me you better get your ass back here!" Libby shook her head angrily. "Dammit Cindy!" She then jogged two or three blocks with no success, then she sprinted to Cindy's house but still found nothing. Remembering she was wearing nothing but boxers and a sleeveless T, Libby shivered again. She walked under a street light and read the rest of the letter.

_Don't try to look for me, because by the time you read this letter I'll be miles away. Please Libby, I want you to understand that this is for the best. But I don't want you to suffer because of my sudden decision._

_I sent a letter to Nick as well, and I told him that if he doesn't clear up my name and tell everyone the truth about why we really broke up, then you post a bunch of pictures of his penis all over school. You're probably wondering how you're going to get pictures of Nick in the nude, not to worry, I have that taken care of. If you look in the envelope, there are pictures in there, those would be Nick's. Please make sure he clears everything correctly and not twist it some other way so that he won't look as bad, make sure it's the honest truth, please. And if he doesn't, then you know what to do. _

_I also sent a letter to Jimmy... You know what I probably said to him. I told him the truth, Libby. The honest truth, and if he has any questions about it, and asks you, please answer everything he wants to know, unless it's my bra size or something irrational._

_Libby, I can't express how sorry I am. But I promise to call you as soon as I reach my final destination._

_Your best friend,_

_Cindy Vortex._

Libby cursed angrily and shoved the letter into her boxer pockets. She fought back a sob and felt the pictures within the envelope. She didn't dare look. Nick Dean's penis? Hell naw.

She was standing just across the street from Jimmy's house. She wanted so badly to pound on the door and wake him up and have him read his letter so they can start looking for her. But she knew she'd have to wait. Possibly a week or so. Maybe even her Dad would get the police involved and find her before this Friday. Libby was really planning on going shopping then and wanted to drag Cindy along.

Libby sighed and went back to her house.


	3. Chapter 3 of Complex Person

I'm real sorry this chapter couldn't be longer. I promise chapter four will be a whopperjack.

It was 6:30 in the morning. Little did Jimmy know that at this time Cindy was sitting in a bus going miles and miles away from there.

Jimmy sat on his bed staring at the ceiling with his stereo booming loudly. But not loud enough to piss his parents off. He was wearing a long sleeved blue shirt with the usual picture of a neutron on it and blue jeans.

"You could never publish my love, you could never publish my looove," Jimmy sang along with the song. He moved his hands from behind his back and sat up.

Jimmy wished so badly that things would go back to the way they were. He wished that he was still the ten year old genius in Retroville that caused destruction and Cindy was still the girl who reminded him of each and every one of them.

Even though Jimmy did screw up a few times now and then, but not as much as he used to. And even if he did, he never heard the same old, "Neutron, you moron!" or "Way to go Neutron, you've done it again." and if he did hear it, it wasn't coming from Cindy Vortex. It was coming from someone else, and Jimmy didn't like to hear it if it was coming from someone else.

He can't believe that he desired Betty Quinlin over Cindy Vortex. Betty Quinlin was so dry and boring. I mean sure, for the ten year old back then she was beautiful, but now that didn't even matter. Betty Quinlin was beautiful but Cindy Vortex was drop dead gorgeous. Well, as gorgeous as a thirteen year old can get.

But on top of that, Cindy Vortex was a lot more interesting than Betty Quinlin was. Cindy Vortex takes Tai Qi and likes studying, she likes reading True Crime books and eating sushi. Were as Betty Quinlin, she liked... Um.. clothes, was it?

You see the point. Jimmy Neutron easily became bored with Betty Quinlin, but he felt so bad about it. I mean how can you get bored of a person? If he tried to explain that to anyone, they'd just think he thought he was too good for her or something.

And on top of all that, isn't Cindy Vortex the slut of the school? Not surprised. The pretty girls are always the whores.

Jimmy puts his shoes on then looks out the window. Libby Folifax is across the street, sitting on the frontsteps of the Vortex residence, and there is a patrol car in the driveway.

_What's going on?_ Jimmy wondered. _Did Cindy finally get caught having sex?_ Jimmy gasped. _Was she pregnant?_

Just what we need, another firey-head Vortex running around.

Jimmy turns his stereo off, announces to his parents that he's going to school a tad early and goes outside. As soon as Jimmy stepped onto the welcome mat, he heard a faint crunch. He looks down and sees an envelope addressed to him. The handwriting seems familiar but he can't quite place it.

He picks it up and opens it, and as he is reading it, Libby gets up, walks across the street and stands next to him waiting patiently.

He stares at the second to last sentence. _I love you. I love you. I love you._

How can this be?

How could he not have known? After all this time? How could he let her slip right through his fingers?

Then his heart pounded. How could he be so stupid to listen to Nick Dean's lies? _How, how, how?_

Jimmy looks up to find tears collecting in Libby's eyes.

"You _knew_?" Jimmy asks.

"Knew what?" Libby sniffles.

"You knew that she liked me and you never told me? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Jimmy demands.

"I didn't tell you because I promised to her I wouldn't." Libby replies. Then she sniffles again. "Jimmy that's not the point. Cindy's gone. Gone."

"Why didn't you guys do anything about those rumors?" Jimmy goes on furiously. "Why did you guys let everyone believe that stuff? Why didn't you guys tell at least _me_ the truth? You guys always went with me on most of my crazy adventures, doesn't that count for something?" Jimmy began to circle Libby without realizing it.

Libby sighs. "Because Cindy doesn't care what people think about her. If you believe the rumors, you do, if you don't, you don't. I thought at least you wouldn't have gotten sucked into it." Libby cocks her head forward. "'Guess I was wrong." Jimmy growls lowly.

"I'm sorry, I'm not perfect." Jimmy snaps.

Libby laughs. "Believe me, Cindy and I know that."

"Well, what should we do?" Jimmy asks. "I can't believe she's liked me all this time. All the taunting, the teasing, everything.."

"Was just an act." Libby finishes. "It's kind of obvious, Jimmy. If someone that young likes someone they usually try to cover it up by being especially mean to the person." Libby shrugs. "Common social knowledge."

Jimmy groans. "How come I didn't know that?"

"Maybe you did," Libby says. "Maybe you just kept telling yourself it wasn't true. I'm not sure about now but it was pretty obvious you liked her back then too. 'Course she doesn't know that, either." Jimmy sighs. "I tried to tell her I thought you liked her but she kept denying it, as if that was absolutely impossible. So you did like her back then, right?"

Jimmy pauses and chews his lip. _I still like her now._

"Yeah whatever," Jimmy waves her off. "I need to call Carl and Sheen."

"What good will they do?" Libby asks doubtfully putting her hands on her hips.

"Well, the more people that know the better," he nods towards the patrol car. "What's up with that?"

"Cindy's dad called the police." Libby informs him. "He wants them to file a missing persons report or something."

"Hah," Jimmy snorts. "The police don't do diddley squat on missing people. They just take care of the more important things like murders and drug busts. The only way he'd have about a fifty percent chance on finding Cindy is if he hired a private investigator."

"Cindy's dad wouldn't pay a dollar to have his daughter found." Libby remarks nastily.

"That's what I thought," Jimmy agrees nodding his head. Then Libby looks at him, eyes as wide as the moon.

"You can find her," Libby says quickly. "You totally can. You've done crazy things, Jimmy. You've defeated the Yolkians, you've saved us from a herd of psychotic pants, c'mon Jimmy. You've found other people before, I bet you could find Cindy." Jimmy chews his lip again.

"Yeah," he says. Then his eyes narrow. "Just what makes you think I want to find her anyway? I mean, just 'cause you and Cindy say that all those rumors aren't true means that they really aren't."

Libby growls. "Jimmy. Who are you going to believe? People like Nick Dean, Butch, Arnie, Abraham, Courtney Tyler and Britney? Or Cindy Vortex and I?"

"I guess you're right." Jimmy admits. "I still can't believe you let everyone believe that stuff. I wouldn't even show up at school if I was labeled a manwhore."

"Cindy's a strong person." Libby says proudly.

"I suppose so," Jimmy chews his lip again, and it starts to bleed.

Sorry. I'd have more but blah.


	4. Chapter 4 of Complex Person

To: The Person who complained about the character's age: All right, don't worry, I'm not upset or anything, but I just want to let you know that 7th graders do all kinds of things now days, it's sad, but true. I know 6th graders who make out, so I didn't think it was too far fetched. Anyway, just wanted to say that. Thanks for reading and leaving reviews, everyone!

"When you were running away," Dr. Lester begins as he shifts his rump around in his cushion chair. "What exactly was going through your mind?"

There is a long silence. Dr. Lester studies the young woman's face curiously. Her eyebrows are furrowed and she's frowning, deep in thought.

The young woman was extremely attractive, Dr. Lester argeed with himself; she had beautiful blond hair that rested well past her shoulders, her eyes, - though a bit narrow, - were glimmery green. So green, one could not mistake them from a mile away.

She was thin. But she looked good, - a lot better than she had before. When she had first been turned in, she was well under ninety-eight pounds; and really pale, her eyes were dark and sullen and her lips were chapped. Her nose was a bit crooked, perhaps from getting it broken quite often, and her left cheek was a bit swollen.

She had seemed a bit nervous and frightened when she first came into the Police station, but later on after talking with Dr. Lester for a while she lightened up. Her posture told him, that she was a very proud woman, loaded with respect and dignity, for she sat with her back straight, her legs crossed over another and her hands resting in her lap.

Her blue jeans were dirty, worn-out and there was a big tear from her knee down to her ankle. Her white t-shirt was a bit stained as well, but she didn't smell bad.

_Thank God_ thought Dr. Lester. He wasn't sure if he could deal with a stinky person.

"Cynthia," Dr. Lester says more gently. "Are you with me?"

Cindy Vortex story was long and untold, from the day she ranaway to the day she crawled into that Police station looking for salvation. She had run up to the first Police officer she saw and claimed that she had been kidnapped and held against her will for years.

Cindy turns to look at Dr. Lester and casts him a warm smile. "Yes," she says with a sigh. "I'm here. What did you say?"

"I said," Dr. Lester repeats. "What exactly was going through your mind as you were running away?"

"Oh I don't know," Cindy replies quickly with a one sided shrug. "Confusion, I guess. That and sadness."

"Where did you go?" Dr. Lester asks. "What was your plan?"

"Well," Cindy begins. "I went to the bus station, and I bought a one way ticket to Vinceton," Cindy laughs and then continues, "I had to hide Humphrey in my duffle bag," she explains even though Dr. Lester didn't ask, "they wouldn't allow dogs on the bus, of course."

"Ah, I see." Dr. Lester remarks blankly. "Where you going to see any relatives in Vinceton?"

"As a matter of fact," Cindy starts. "I was. I wasn't going to at first - I didn't want to see any more Vortex's in my life time, but that was when I was thinking irrationally. When my thoughts cleared up I realized I couldn't live on the street, I was just a kid, - I'd get mugged, or molested or kidnapped or both."

"So true," Dr. Lester agrees. "Who did you see?"

"I saw my big cousin Tyson." Cindy replies, she sighs and runs three of her fingers through her hair then looks out the window.

"What's the matter, Cynthia?" Dr. Lester asks.

Cindy turns back away from the window and looks at Dr. Lester. "Please," she says with a grin. "Just call me Cindy."

**My** short figure sent large shadows dancing along the walls. I felt a little closed in, wedged between the alleyways.

Downtown Vinceton is always ugly. It's always raining. Always grey. Always unhappy.

There were large puddles everywhere, and garbage piled up just outside of a full dumpster.

My hands were deep in the pockets of my sweater. The hood was pulled over my head to block out the world from seeing my face. Because if you looked me in the eye at that very moment, they would be filled with depression. Anyone would see it. Yet, I don't have that one essential thing. Control. I wants to stop my feet from going in this direction and turn around. But I can't. I want to forget everything I has ever done wrong and try to get things right. But I can't.

Why don't I ever have control over my life?

Up, up, up, the rusty staircase. Becareful not to slip off, still wet from the crying sky. I wrap my fingers around the cold doorknob. I can hear music booming from inside. I can hear the television booming from inside. It was always like this.

I gave Humphrey a reassuring look as I knocked on the door.

Tyson was my cousin. My big cousin. He's six years older than me. He ran away from his parents when he was seventeen and got his own apartment. It was a cheap runned down place, but at least it was something.

I went to Tyson because I was a runaway like he was, I thought that if anyone would have any sympathy for me and take me in, it would be him. And plus, I felt more comfortable around people closer to my age. Tyson was still a kid, and I was not ready for any more sets of rules to follow.

Right now, Tyson is studying at a Community College in Vinceton, and working a part time job as a waiter in some expensive restaraunt called, Bon Appetito.

Nothing happened the first time I knocked so I gave it another go. Finally the door swung open and there stood my nineteen year old cousin Tyson. He looked like a mess; his dirty blond hair was a wreck, there was dark around his eyes, it looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of weeks, and he was wearing a thrown on navy t-shirt and red plaid lounge pants.

He looked around for a moment, then caught sight of me and looked downward. "Yeah?"

"Hi," I said nervously, because it was the only thing I could think of saying. I hadn't really planned out what I was going to say to him. Humphrey sat down and sighed.

"Well, hi there." Tyson said scratching the back of his head. "No girl scout cookies for me today, sorry I'm on a tight budget."

I almost burst out laughing. "No, I'm not selling any cookies." I said quickly, then I looked down at myself and back at him. "Ty, don't you remember me?"

"Remember you?" Tyson asked shocked. He leaned against the doorway and eyed me up and down. "Well, you do seem a bit familiar..." he scratched his chin for a moment, then his eyes grew wide. "Holy Hell... Cindy? Cousin Cindy? Is that you?"

I smiled. "You remembered."

"Daaammn!" Tyson exclaimed. "You've gotten big," he put his hand out trying to measure my height. "And beautiful. How old are you now?"

"Thirteen." I boasted.

"Wow. Yeah. I bet you hafta fight those Middle school boys off with a stick!" Tyson said. "What are you doing here? No wait a minute, - forgive my rudeness, - come in!"

Tyson stepped out of the way so Humphrey and I went inside. He shut the door behind us and led us down a narrow hallway with dark tan wallpaper and army green carpeting.

He turned and it opened up into the living room; there was a couch and a couple of chairs, a recliner, a TV, and a coffee table sitting right in front of the couch. An X box lay on the floor, connected up to the TV and a remote controller left ascew on one of the couch cushions. A open pizza box had been left on the coffee table, with most of the slices gone.

A stack of school text books and notebooks lie on the floor next to the TV.

"Have a seat," Tyson said gesturing at the couch. "Forgive my messiness. I've been couped up pretty much all weekend!"

I sat down on the couch as Tyson knelt down to scratch Humphrey behind the ears. "How's my Humphrey doin'? Huh? How's my big boy doin'? That's a good doggy. He's a real good dog!"

"You can talk to him like a normal person." I said. "He actually prefers it that way." Humphrey snorted.

"Aye," Tyson said patting Humphrey's head. "Didn't know that. Sorry Humphs." he stood up and put his hands on his hips as he looked at me. "So what are you doing down here, missy? All by yourself? All grown up and pretty n' shit?"

I laughed. "I ran away from home." I went right down to the chase.

Tyson's eyebrows arched upward. "Aww," he said. "How come?"

"I hate it there." I said. "My dad doesn't give a shit about anything but his work, and when my mom was around she was nothing but a bitch. My brother's an annoying retard. And now that my parents are divorced all I have is a neglectful father who honestly doesn't give a shit about nothing. And all the kids at my school think I'm a whore, and I've got like the worst reputation ever. I can't believe I lasted as long as I did."

Tyson stared at me. Then he blinked. "Wow," was what he said when he spoke finally. "Why does all the kids at your school think you're a whore?"

"Because my ex spread these bullshit rumors about me." I replied fiercly. "They're total bullshit. He's just upset because I didn't want him groping me and I broke up with him. Then after that, all these other guys started spreading rumors about me. It's awful. I can barely get up and go to school everyday."

"Awww," said Ty. "I'm sorry. Why didn't you tell everyone they were bullshit?"

"Who'd believe me?" I wanted to know. "A thousand other people against me? I don't think so."

"So, why did you come to me?" Tyson asked.

I bit my lip. "Because um.. I don't know. I didn't know where else to go.. I was going to live on the street but then I thought about getting mugged.." Tyson laughed, that annoyed me.

"I understand," he said. "You need a place to stay, eh? Just for a bit?"

"I ... I guess." I wanted to stay for as long as I wanted, but I figured him letting me stay at all was good enough. "Yeah."

"Well, of course you can stay here. I only have one spare bedroom. It's pretty small because it's supposed to be a study. But, I pretty much use the whole apartment as a study, so it don't matter much." he chuckled.

I shifted uncomfortably. "You're not going to tell my dad, right?"

Tyson laughed hysterically. "Of course not!" he exclaimed.

**"That** sounds awfully nice." Dr. Lester says. "Your cousin Tyson was a nice guy, wasn't he, Cynth - I mean, Cindy?"

Cindy looks out the window again and sighs. "Mmhm."

"What's wrong, Cindy?" Dr. Lester asks.

Cindy bites her lip.

"Tyson was a nice person, was he not?" Dr. Lester wants to know.

"I guess.." Cindy replies, a low whisper.

"Cindy, what's wrong?" Dr. Lester pressures onward. "What's wrong with Tyson?"

Cindy cringes, and shifts uncomfortably. "Mmff."

"What?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Cindy, what's wrong with your cousin, Tyson?"

"He, um." Cindy tries, but the words won't come out.

"He what?"

"Um.."

"Cindy?"

Silence.

"Cindy, what did Tyson do?"

Silence.

"Cindy, I need you to talk to me." Dr. Lester coaxes. "Did he hit you?"

Cindy shakes her head.

"Did he touch you?"

Cindy chews on her fingernails still staring out the window, then slowly starts to nod her head.

"Where did he touch you?"

Cindy laughs nervously. "Can we please talk about something else?"

Dr. Lester looks at her sadly, but then forces a smile and says, "We're going to have to come back to this subject eventually, Cindy."

Cindy's voice returns to a mere whisper. "I know," she breathes. "But not now."

Dr. Lester nods. "All right." he agrees. "All right... So what happened after Tyson let you and Humphrey stay at his apartment?"


	5. Author Note

Hey, everyone. I can't thank you enough for leaving reviews!

My life has been quite hectic lately, and also I do not write anymore unless I am inspired. I promise that I will put chapter 5 up sometime this week!

Sorry and thank you for being so patient! I wanted to post this to let you guys know that I didn't drop dead, or that I wasn't continuing the story anymore. Just hang in there for a few more days!

UntitledAuthor.


	6. Chapter 5 of Complex Person

)( Thank you all so much for being so patient! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and reviews are _greatly_ appreciated! )(

It really is amazing how people change when they grow up. Friends grow apart, geeks turn into hunks, hunks turn into butterballs, and the guy you thought you'd fallen in love with turns out to just be your best friend.

Sometimes, I really try to picture if things went the way I wanted them to go way back then. It was so easy to imagine at the time, but now, all I can get is a fuzzy reception. I just can't picture them any differently now.

It's funny how back then I thought that I was so old and mature. I thought that I knew everything I needed to know to survive on my own. But you know what? I was proven wrong - a big slap of reality in the face. I was only thirteen after all, I mean, what could you expect?

If I knew about the shit I was going to go through when I stepped out that door, I probably never would have. But I did, and then I had to deal with it, and now I have to get over it because it's one of many's life lessons.

Sometimes, I don't even regret the shit I went through. Sure, it sucked ass, but it's part of what made me into the young woman I am today. It formed my character, it made me stronger, it made me street smart. I had to see the person getting ready to throw the ball so I could dive out of the way, instead of waiting until the ball was airborne.

Sometimes, I would randomly break down into tears because I honestly thought that I was going to die. I thought that if I went to sleep one night, I wouldn't wake up. I mean, I guess that is the best way to die if you're going to die at all, but the very thought freaked me out.

But while I was gone, I wasn't the only one going from a little kid to a young adult. All of my friends - well, classmates anyway, were doing a growing up of their own. Without me.

"Whatever do you think happened to her anyway?" a voice tuned into the song booming on the stereo that Jimmy had been rocking his head back and forth to.

It was Sheen. Sheen had been standing in front of the boombox all night long, switching from CD to CD, like a DJ. Carl was starting to get fed up with him because Sheen would never let the song finish before switching it to something else.

"Not whatever," Jimmy corrected, in mid-pause of a nod. "What."

"What?" Sheen grabbed the knob of the stereo and turned it down.

He was taller now, not by much though, it had only been a year and a half since Cindy had left anyway. Though Sheen continued to be a large fan of Ultra Lord, he stopped wearing the t-shirt and reciting his favorite quotes all of the time, but he did continue to wear the boxers on occasion.

Since Cindy had left, Jimmy stayed more to himself and he often remained silent or left the room when people began to talk about her. Libby moved to a different school, but had begun to hang out with Jimmy and the boys on weekends.

She was there with them tonight, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, singing the lyrics to every song that Sheen popped on.

Jimmy found himself feeling disgusted with Sheen about Cindy. He was so insympathetic, it was like Sheen didn't care that Cindy was out there on her own. Sheen would always be the first to bring up Cindy with very similar lines like, "What do you think she's doing now?" or "Do you think she's dead?", of course he would receive chilly glares when the second question was asked.

But what they really didn't know was that Sheen missed Cindy just as much as Jimmy did - or more. He just wasn't the type to show his feelings. In fact, he really didn't want Jimmy to know that he _had_ feelings for Cindy in the first place. What kind of mess would _that_ be?

Sheen knew that Jimmy liked Cindy, and he knew that Cindy liked Jimmy too, so why does he keep feeling this way? What was it about Cindy that made his stomach do somersaults? Why would he even bother liking her if he knew she could and probably will - if she turns back up - have a wonderful brilliant guy like Jimmy?

Sheen's no match for Jimmy! What could Sheen do that Jimmy couldn't? Sheen had fallen in love with skateboarding, and picked up the sport fairly easily after spending a few hardworking weeks on it. But Jimmy could simply invent a skateboard and become the next Tony Hawk making Sheen look like a pussy.

Seriously, the fact that Jimmy could do anything he wanted to and still have time for a girl in his life made Sheen want to just let him have her. They deserve each other. They're like, pratically destined to be together! _Everybody_ knows that now.

So Sheen thought it best to just bottle up all his feelings and sweep it under the rug.

There's nothing special about Sheen Estevez anyway. Why would Cindy even glance his way? He's just an ordinary boy.

He really didn't know what he was going to do if Cindy showed up and started dating Jimmy. He would try his best to be normal, to not care, but jealousy is one of hardest emotions to hide. Especially for Sheen.

"You said, _whatever do you think happened to her anyway?_" Jimmy repeated cocking his head to the side allowing his long curl to dip down. "It's what, not whatever."

"Oh shoosh," Sheen said bitterly with a roll of his eyes. "Do you always have to correct people?"

"No, just you." Jimmy replied with a smirk, then went on more seriously. "And I hate how you bring up Cindy all the time."

"Well, what?" Sheen turned his back to the stereo. "You'd rather not talk about her at all?" Jimmy shrugged and hugged his knees against his chest.

"You guys," Carl spoke timidly from the corner of the room. "I really think we should do what my therapist suggested."

"What did your therapist suggest, Carl?" Libby wanted to know, taking a chocolate chip cookie from the cookie plate Mrs. Neutron had made for them earlier and dabbed it into her glass of milk twice before taking a bite out of it.

"He said we should move on," Carl went on. "We can't sit around, moping and let the memories of Cindy bring us down."

"But we can't forget her either!" Sheen exclaimed. "So what's the point of that?"

"I think what Carl's trying to say is," Jimmy paused for a moment as he stood, brushing some leftover cookie crumbs from hands. "We've got to stop letting this memory of Cindy pull us back. I mean look at us, guys, we're all depressed because of this. There's nothing wrong with being depressed for a time, but we really must move on. Cindy would all want us to do that."

"How would you know?" Libby demanded. "You never took the time to get to know her, Jimmy."

"Ooh, burn sucka!" Sheen laughed.

"Shut up, Sheen," Jimmy snapped. "See how this very topic is bogging us all down? Why don't we go ask my mom if she can take us to the movies or something."

"But there's nothing good to see," Carl pointed out.

"You know what that means?" Sheen snickered. "If Carl says there's nothing good that means there IS something good to see, because the only thing he considers good is stupid Llama movies!"

"Shove it, Sheen!" Carl roared. "All you used to watch was stupid Ultra Lord videos!"

"Ultra Lord is not, was not and never will be stupid!" Sheen retorted, saliva spraying from his mouth. "And at least I grew out of it! You still watch Llama Planet!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not times one hundred."

"Do too times a google!"

"Do not times a googleplex."

Sheen paused, as Carl smirked at him.

"Oh yeah? Do too times infinity!" Sheen shrieked then bounced around the room. "Oh what now? What now!"

"It's okay Carl," Libby said, patting Carl on the back comfortingly. "You'll get him next time."

The first few days with my cousin Tyson was fun.

When I woke up the first morning, Tyson had already gone to his classes. He left me a note on the kitchen counter telling me where he was and that there was leftover scrambled eggs in the fridge.

After helping myself to the ziploc bagged eggs, I took Humphrey with me to go shopping.

Not that I'd be buying much, just a couple of things Humphrey and I might need.

In the end, I wound up buying Humphrey some dog food, a bed spread, some pizza from Pizza Hut that I ate for lunch and a laundry bag. I also bought some mini pizza bites for Tyson, to show him how much I appreciate him letting me stay.

On our way back up the indoor staircase, I bumped into Tyson's downstair's neighbor and her son. Literally.

It was pratically impossible for me to see over the large brown grocery bag, so when I turned the corner I slammed into the poor woman's stomach and knocked over my groceries as well as hers. After we both apologized and helped each other pick up our stuff, she started the whole _adult curiosity questions_ thing. You know, _every_ adult does it.

"Nah, I'm staying with my cousin Tyson for a while," I replied after she asked if I had just moved here.

"Oh really?" the woman said, "How long do you think you will be here?"

"Who knows," I said with a mysterious smirk and a shrug of my shoulders. "I go with the wind."

By that time her son, was coming up the stairs behind her. He looked to be about fourteen or fifteen - or you know, a little older than me. His deep blue eyes remined me of Jimmy, but his spiky black hair reminded me of Sheen.

I almost laughed out loud right in the kids face, but thank God I was able to hold it back.

"Oh, there you are," said the woman to her son, placing her arm around him. He rolled his eyes and gave me a look like, _help me. _I rolled my eyes back at him, as if to say, _know how you feel there, buddy._ I might've been mistakened, but as soon as I gave him that look, I could've sworn he blushed violently and turned his gaze towards the floor.

"This is my son, Jeremy." she said with a huge smile. "He's around your age, I think. Jeremy, this is...?"

"Cindy," I said quickly putting out my hand for him to shake. He just looked at me, as if I was a random stranger that had approached him and was trying to give him a 100 dollar bill or something.

His mother glared at him. "Don't be rude, Jeremy."

"I forgot to wash my hands," he said, and _whoa!_ was this kids voice deep or what? Damn, puberty must've hit real early for this kid, and okay, even though I still had Jimmy on my mind and all that, I had to admit that this deep voice business, was pretty damned sexy.

I put my hand down. "Thanks for the warning," I said with a slight grin.

"Jeremy!" His mother slapped him on the back of the head.

Eyeing this kid a bit more, I could tell he was one of those trouble-making kids. Kind of like a never-pay-attention-in-class jokester, like Sheen, except a little worse.

"Don't worry about him," his mom said glaring at Jeremy. "He doesn't know how to act around girls."

"Oh please," Jeremy groaned.

"Well, I better get going," I said politely with a nod of my head. "Nice to meet you ma'am," and since I thought this Jeremy kid _might_ have gotten the hots for me, I shot him a quick wink as I said, "Nice to meet you _Jeremy._"

Hah! That did it. Jeremy's ears and cheeks turned bright pink as he looked down and muttered something back.

God, now I do feel like a slut. But I'm not _really_ a slut, right? Pratically every girl flirts, so it shouldn't be so bad that I'm doing it now, right? Damn those rumors. Damn them!

Taking my groceries, Humphrey and a piece of Jeremy's heart, I turned and went up the stairs to Tyson's apartment. He's probably wondering where I've been all day, anyway.


	7. Chapter 6 of Complex Person

Placing his hands behind his head, Jimmy lay comfortably on his bed staring up at the ceiling. Goddard stood just beside him and waited for Jimmy to speak. "You ready, Goddard?" Jimmy asked his robotic dog. "Begin to write down the following," Instead of writing in a journal like most teenagers, - all Jimmy had to do was speak and Goddard would write it all down in a text notepad saved in his harddrive.  
Goddard nodded his head, and with a sigh, Jimmy began his entry for the day.

Diary,  
I often wonder how things would differ from the way things are if Cindy Vortex were still here.  
I wonder if either of us would have come clean with our true feelings by now, since the good-bye letter Cindy wrote for me would not exist. I wonder if our differences would continue to come between us.  
When would we finally realize that we were both deeply in love with each other? Even if that does sound crazy, especially since we were so young.  
I wonder, if neither of us ever confessed our feelings to the other, would we have eventually grown out of them and fallen for someone else? Would I have never known that Cindy felt this strongly for me? Will I ever see Cindy's beautiful face again? Will I be able to tell her how I feel? Is she alive? Is she okay?  
These questions are the author of my insomnia, that much I know for sure. Ever since Cindy disappeared, I haven't been able to sleep as well. It feels as though a piece of me has gone away - life has almost been unbearable for me. Not just the fact that I might not see her again, but having no closure... It's like a constant hole in my chest. She will go without knowing that I love her, she will go without knowing that so many people miss her, she will go without ever resting her hand gentle in my palm, she will go without my lips ever touching hers. Goddard, - it's just too much! I'm driving myself insane! Does she still love me? Does she ever have any second thoughts about running away? Does she miss her home? Her old school? Her childhood friends? I want ANSWERS!  
That's the thing about me, Goddard. I am a man of questions and answers, I always have been. I have a question, I use my lab to seek out the answer. I've always been able to do it - until now. These are different kinds of questions for different kinds of answers.  
It seems like as the days go on, my love for her only grows, and my longing to be with her.. Ugh..

Goddard paused to watch his owner, rub his nose with the back of his hand and turn his back to him. No soon after this, the room would be greeted by a series of light sniffles, and the young genius' shoulders began to tremble. Goddard could do nothing but leap onto the bed and curl up beside Jimmy's back.

Sorry this was short. More coming VERY soon! 


	8. Chapter 7 of Complex Person

When I had gotten back to the apartment, I found Tyler on the couch with a girl lying under him.

The war between the two tongues was so fierce, they didn't even hear me slam the door, - and yes I'm underlining _slam_ because I had grabbed that sucker by the edges and threw that thing with both arms back against the door frame - so hard that it bounced off and hit me in the side of the face. Which hurt by the way.

I thought for sure the loud slam and my yelp of pain would catch their attention but nope. I turn and I see Tyler's huge hand slip under the girls' bright pink t-shirt and begin its' wild little investigations under there. Gross, - it made me shiver.

I felt the spot where the door hit me begin to throb, forming a bruise. Well, it's not like I'm was going to stroll up to them and be all, "Hey Tyler, who's the chick? Oh yeah, I just wanted to tell you where I was so you wouldn't worry about me."

Yeah right. So I just walked on by them and went to my room where Humphrey was waiting resting comfortably on the mattress.

"You're such a lazy dog," I said to him with a smile creeping on my face. "I'm going to have to take you to the park from now on." Humphrey let out a low snort, and laid his head back down.

So, my day had ended there. I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling with the delightful sounds of pleasurable moaning and the floor thumping as if a Bunny were hopping around the house...

Oh I'm _kidding._ That didn't really happen. I just fell asleep, I can't tell you if Tyler scored a homerun that night or not, and quite frankly, I don't want to know. Ever. The thought of anyone with the same blood as me having sex with someone was just something I didn't like to think about, you know?

Instead I occupied my mind with thoughts of Jimmy.. But sadly, the memories of him were beginning to fade away. This wasn't because he didn't mean much to me - he did, he meant the world to me, but I just haven't seen him in so long. At least it seems so long...

I'm probably never even going to see him again. If I ever go back to Retroville, he'll be away in College or off being a Billionare like Bill Gates, and even if he is still around - what makes you think he's going to give diddley squat about me? He may just brush me off.. I mean why should I matter? He'll probably have girls eating out of the palm of his hand.

So I moved my thoughts on to the boy who lived downstairs. Jeremy. The cute kid with the extremely deep voice - for his age anyway. He's the only kid I've met since I moved her with Tyler - and honestly, I was getting a bit lonely. So I think tomorrow, I'll go looking for him - it's not like I've got anything better to do.

Well tomorrow came, and I'm happy to tell you that I didn't have to bust my ass off trying to figure out where Jeremy could possibly be. He was in the parking lot for the apartment, shooting some hoops with three other guys.

So why not go over there and introduce myself? The more friends the merrier - even though I wouldn't mind one of those friends' being a girl, but for now, I'll get what I can take.

I'm wearing denim blue jeans, some old black and white striped hightops and an oversized navy hoody. I couldn't find my scrunchie that morning and I wasn't going to go rummaging through all of my stuff in search of it - I was way too tired, so I decided to just leave my long blond hair down - it had grown a bit since I'd left. Well, duh. It used to go down to my shoulders, but now it goes about four inches past my shoulders.

I walked over to the guys' and figured out that they were playing two on two and when the numbers' even, you're more likely to be turned down if you ask to play. So I just stood there, watching them for a bit.

One kid reminded me of Carl a little bit - He had bright orange hair and thick glasses. The big difference was that he was extremely skinny. I mean REALLY skinny, you could see his cheekbones. It was gross. His feet were large and he seemed to be uncoordinated, making it easy for Jeremy and his teammate to steal the ball from him.

The other kid who appeared to be the red head's teammate, was extremely tall. He had bright blond hair and fast feet. He was a good ball handler - I'd give him that much - however, when it came to shooting, he lacked the necessary skill - Aiming. This kid stole the ball from Jeremy, dribbled it through his legs, spun around Jeremy's teammate and while his red headed parnter stood there with his arms open screaming, "Broch, I'm open! I'm open!" He went for the hoop. The ball bounced off of the rim and Jeremy's teammate caught it, pointing and laughing at the guy named Broch.

Jeremy's partner, was the shortest. He had a bowl shaped haircut, which was neatly cut to stop just at his eyebrows and freckles all over his skin. He had beaver-like teeth, and spit went flying from his mouth everytime he talked. He wasn't a bad ball player - well, at least not as bad as the red headed kid.

Jeremy called his teammate, "Timmy," and almost instantly, I felt as though a knife had stabbed me hard in the chest, because it painfully reminded me of Jimmy.

Timmy over-head passed the ball to Jeremy, and Jeremy did a lay-up, landing the ball into the hoop.

"That's how it's done Broch," Timmy snickered tauntingly.

"Shove it up your ass, Tim," Broch snapped fiercly. "Or I'll do it for you."

"Ooh, tough guy," Timmy slapped Jeremy on the back, as the two parted over to the other side of the "court"... er.. Parking lot and waited for Broch and his redheaded teammate to dribble down.

Finally, I overheard the red-headed kids' name. They called him Ryan.

"I want to bring it down," Ryan protested.

"No Ryan," Broch said, dribbling the ball back and forth through his legs. "You can't dribble worth shit! They always steal the ball from you before you even get near the net!"

"Well, you can't shoot worth shit!" Ryan retorted.

"What is this time out?" Timmy called from the other side of the parking lot. "I don't remember anyone calling time out. Penalty on your team, Broch!"

"Shut up Tim!" Broch roared. "You're not the one with a nerd on your team!"

"Just because I get good grades, means I am a nerd!" Ryan shrieked.

"No, it's because you can't do any sports, Ryan!" Broch screamed in his face. "You're athletically handicapped, you tard! What do you do? Stay inside all day studying and watching your mom iron your ugly plaid button-up shirts?"

Okay, I was done watching. Time to start talking.

"Hey, easy fireball," I said shoving my hands into my front hoody pockets, and jogging over to the two. The four boys snapped in my direction, - Wow, I thought they were playing it cool but they honestly hadn't known that I was there.

"Did you just call me a fireball?" Broch asked.

I placed my hand on Ryan's shoulder. It was obvious that Ryan wasn't used to being around a girl - let alone a girl touching his shoulder, so I felt him flinch slightly. "Sure, he may be athletically handicapped, but it's not the end of the world. Mind over muscle, you know? He's going to be the one making billions and you're going to be the one working for him."

Ryan beamed at Broch.

"Who the Hell do you think you are?" Broch snarled stepping up to me.

"I think I'm Cindy." I replied. "And I think you should apologize to Ryan here," I gestured at Ryan who was almost as red as his hair.

"Like Hell I will!" Broch screeched.

Jeremy and Timmy wanted to know what was going on, so they came jogging over.

"Cindy!" Jeremy's voice cracked in surprise. He clamped his mouth shut with his hand and began to turn a bright shade of pink.

"Hi Jeremy," I said sweetly.

"You know this chick?" Broch asked Jeremy thumbing me. "Tell her to hold her tongue before I rip it out!"

All right, so my whole analyzation of Broch was totally false. I was thinking he was all bark and no bite - but boy was I wrong, and I paid the price. Since, I thought he was just going to spit words in my face all day long and not actually raise his fists, I had put my guard down, but while I was smiling sweetly at Jeremy's adorable rosey cheeked face, Broch formed a fist and sent it flying at my jaw. Which it did hit - and it did snap loudly, and wow did that hurt.

I flung backwards from the impact and hit the ground flat on my bossom. The even worse part is that he wasn't finished, he started at me when Jeremy grabbed Broch by the shoulders and pushed him away with all his strength, which had caused Broch to back up about five feet or so.

"You're a real asshole you know that, Broch?" Jeremy hollered.

"Yeah dude, how can you hit a chick?" Timmy agreed.

"You're an asshole!" Ryan squealed angrily shaking his fist.

"Easy," said Broch, in reply to Timmy's question. "Hold up my hand, make a fist, throw it at her face. Not that hard."

While Broch was snarling at his "friends", I had gotten up with blood pouring down my chin and onto my hoody, and decided to make a fist of my own. I'm Cindy Vortex - no one throws a punch at me and gets away with it. No one.

I snuck up behind Broch, and just when he was about to open his mouth to release a long string of cuss words, I tapped him on the shoulder. As soon as he turned halfway, I greeted the side of his lip with my fist. This wasn't going to be a solo punch, whoa no, I was doing a doubletaker. Just as my first punch sunk deeply into his soft lip, I brought up my other fist and rammed it into his eyeball.

Now he was screaming in pain, holding his eye. He staggered around and then fell to his knees, and finally, he began to cry. Somehow, they always do.

"Look who's the tard now?" Ryan screamed. "Tard!"

"Asshole," I said glaring down at Broch's crying self. I wiped the blood off my chin with the back of my sleeve, then deciding I had enough of all this, I turned and began to walk away.

Where was I going? Well, I was off to go grab myself a bite to eat. All that fighting was making me one hungry little lady. As I went down the sidewalk, I heard someone call my name.

Jimmy? No, it couldn't be.

I turned to see it was Jeremy, he jogged up beside me.

"Cindy, hi." he breathed heavily.

"Jeremy, hi." I mocked teasingly, then cupped my swollen jaw with my hand.

"I'm really sorry," Jeremy said staring at my jaw. "Don't you think you should put ice on that?"

"It'll be fine," I told him.

"Well, if you say so," Jeremy kicked up his boot hesitantly. "Where you going?"

"To eat lunch," I replied.

"Can I come?" Jeremy moved his gaze towards the sky, pretending the seaguls were the most interesting thing in the world to watch.

"Sure," I said.

"Where we eating?"

"Some interesting looking Japanese place," I replied.


	9. Will The Story Ever Finish?

Don't worry, I haven't dropped the story.  
I'm going to continue writing it during the Summer. I am released from school May 27th, so be on the look out after that date. Thanks! 


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